To kill a Spider Queen
by watagashi
Summary: When the Spider Queen journeyed to our realm to reap the wealth of corrupted souls, she did not expect to run into the wrong 13-year-old girl. Based on a dream I had. Please r+r!
1. Default Chapter

"Bow to me, foolish surface mortal!" the Spider Queen shrieked. The human girl backed up against her door, her eyes wide and her lips slightly a-gape. She fumbled for a moment, then found the light switch, and flipped it on.  
  
Immediately, the room was brilliantly lit by the overhead bulb. Lloth cried out in agony and snapped her eyes shut. She backed away from the girl, but could not move her bulk very far in the small bedroom. Her reaction seemed to give the girl confidence.  
  
She eyed a box of matches on her bureau. It was right next to the Spider Queen's head, and the girl found that a dangerous place to go. Despite this, she made a snatch for the box, hoping that the frantic Queen was too preoccupied with her current blindness.  
  
As her hand reached out, the Spider Queen lunged blindly forward. Her head connected with the girl's abdomen, and sent them both flying into the door. Lloth shrieked with pleasure and wrapped her front pincers around the girl, trapping her in a deadly embrace.  
  
But the girl had the matches, and wasted no time in lighting one. "Say, Spidey," the girl said. "You ever hear of third-degree burns?" Without another word, she dropped the match onto the great Spider's back. The flame found the stiff hairs along her body and ignited them.  
  
With a howl of rage and pain, Lloth let go of the girl, who burst through the door and into her living room. "Where is it?" she asked aloud as she entered the kitchen. "Did I leave it outside? Where is it?"  
  
A light at the end of the hall told her that the Spider Queen was in pursuit. "Fool surface mortal!" she bellowed. "I will torture you eternally! I will devour your soul!"  
  
The girl gave up her search, and opened the knife drawer. "These will have to do," she said, picking up the two largest knives. They were mis-matched, and not the sharpest, but she had not been able to find the heavy weapon she had used to cleave tree roots in two earlier that week. She gripped the knives firmly and waited for the Spider Queen to come into view.  
  
Since the rest of the house was still dark, Lloth was just regaining her sight. She blinked her tears away as she peered ahead. She made out the shape of the girl, and charged forward, the saliva of anticipation frothing in her mouth. "Now, fool!" she cried. "You die!"  
  
The girl leapt to the side, and Lloth slid headfirst into the computer. It sparked and was ignited by the flames still dancing on the back of the Spider Queen. She wrenched herself free of the monitor, shards of glass protruding from her face.  
  
"Damn you!" she bellowed in rage and pain. "Damn you! You deserve an eternity of pain!" She cried out again as something hard and sharp sank into her back.  
  
"Your threats are empty, queen of garbage!" the girl said, raising her second knife for another blow.  
  
The Spider Queen turned and rammed into the girl, winding her and knocking the knife from her hand. "Idiot girl!" she said gleefully. "My hearing is not impaired with my sight! Now you will know my fury!"  
  
With that, the vicious goddess lanced her front claws forward. The girl gasped in pain as she was impaled upon the multi-jointed legs. She writhed in agony and desperation, shattering the glass windows of the door behind her. Seeing a ray of hope, she leapt up and backward, crashing through the wooden panes and dragging the massive Spider Queen after her.  
  
They landed on the dew-sodden grass, and the Spider Queen was able to extinguish the flames that had burned and fused most of her exoskeleton. The girl brought her legs up and pushed hard against the drow-like head while she gripped the legs inside of her torso.  
  
With a sickening pop, the claws came free, and the girl struggled to her feet. Lloth would be up soon, and in desperation, the girl found the strength to jog painfully away. She glanced to her left and saw the end of the road brightly lit where it turned onto the adjoining street. There was also a small gravel parking lot, empty of cars, in front of the neighborhood pool. A glint came into the girl's eye as she staggered hurriedly toward it.  
  
With an inhuman cry, the Spider Queen leapt into the street, maddened with pain and rage, spurred on by the girl's weakened state. She tore after the little human girl as fast as her eight legs would carry her, delighted that she was stained in blood other than her own.  
  
The girl did not look back. She had a decent head start, but she knew that she was in great danger still. She willed herself to move faster, and she reached the parking lot in a staggering run. Kicking up gravel behind her, she ascended the paved path to the chicken-wire gate that separated her from the pool. She took a deep breath, and started to climb.  
  
Lloth saw well that the girl meant to blind her again by entering such light. But Lloth kept an even pace, and her eyes adjusted to the light of the street lamp before she got close to it. The space the girl was scrambling into was dark, and Lloth sped after her. Just as the girl jumped down over the fence, the Spider Queen leapt onto it, and used her many legs to push herself over the top in an instant.  
  
The girl had staggered several yards away before the Spider Queen clambered over the fence. She knew that the Spider Queen was faster, and now there was little space left to run. But she saw her goal up ahead, and put on an extra burst of speed, clutching the gaping holes in her midsection.  
  
The Spider Queen reared in glee. The foolish girl had trapped herself! The spacious area was fenced in! Lloth charged the girl as she stood on the edge of a square dark patch in the floor. She reached four of her powerful legs forward and struck.nothing. She quickly regained her balance and felt something cold and wet splash against her. The girl had leapt into a great pool of water!  
  
The girl felt her insides clench. The water had been much colder than she had expected. She took a deep breath and tried not to be sick as she watched her blood seep into the water around her. She stood out in five feet of water according to the sign at the edge, and she stood in the very center of the pool, hoping that the colossal spider could not reach. She didn't know about Lloth, but it was her experience that spiders did not make for good swimmers.  
  
"Well, queen of refuse?" she challenged. "Come and get me, o ruler of moldy toilet bowls!" She dearly hoped that the queen would not come get her. The tremor in her voice was because of more than just cold. She glanced over at the deep end. If she could manage that.  
  
Lloth was not willing to accept the challenge. She did not know how they would both fare in water. But neither was she willing to admit defeat. She went around the pool to one side of the girl. She swam to the other side of the pool. "Come back, child," the Queen called in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I will end your pain."  
  
"You lie, queen of putrescence," the girl said darkly. She swam a little to the left and picked up the net the pool boy used to fish out leaves and whatnot. The net itself was a hindrance, but the long metal pole it was attached to had its uses. She slid the net off the end of the pole, and was pleased to find that the rim was sharp under the plastic. She held the pole in one hand and dove beneath the water's surface to swim into deeper waters.  
  
Lloth growled in annoyance and moved along the edge of the pool. She could see the girl perfectly well in infra-vision, and she left a clear trail with the warm blood streaming from her wounds. But the Spider Queen would not enter the water, and that meant that she would have to lure the girl out. She saw that the girl came closer to the edge than was prudent for her. The Spider Queen reasoned that the girl could not see well under water. A wicked grin spread over her features as she positioned herself for the jump.  
  
The girl knew well how close to the edge she was. She wanted to get within reach only if the gigantic spider leapt on top of her. The girl also knew that despite the wonders of infra-vision, the pole was the same temperature as the water. She gripped it firmly as she made as though surfacing for air.  
  
Lloth howled in triumph as she leapt on top of the girl. Her next howl was one of pain as the sharp edge of the pole cut into her. She fell into the water, struggling, and the pole pushed her down beneath the surface. The girl took as deep a breath as her damaged lungs would allow and swam downward, pushing the Spider Queen to the bottom of the pool.  
  
Lloth kicked and flailed with her eight legs. Again and again, her claws found the girl's flesh, but never did her grip on the pole lessen. So intent upon drowning the vile goddess, the girl disregarded the searing pain in her torso, arms, legs, and head. She was fast running out of air, and she knew that one of her arms was broken, but she held down that evil spider with all of her strength. But the Spider Queen can say spells beneath the water.  
  
In a flash of pale green light, the girl was rocketing backward, out of the water, the pole pushing her along. She landed with a crunch onto the concrete next to the pool, her skin torn, her ribs cracked, and a searing pain in her head. She struggled to her feet, leaning on the pole for support, as the near-drowned Spider Queen reared up in front of her.  
  
"You have fought viciously," Lloth said. "I admit that I was hoping to smite you without magic, as you are not worthy of such effort on my part. But now you have proven yourself beyond my expectations, fool human surface filth!" She drew herself to her full and impressive height before the wretched girl. "Bow to me," she commanded. "And I will make your death quick."  
  
The girl leaned more heavily on the pole, feeling the strength leave her. She knew that she would be dead soon. But she would die defiantly, and not groveling at the vile spider's feet. "I bow," said the girl. "To no god."  
  
Lloth grinned evilly. "You will bow to me," she said. "Whether by your own choice, or because you have no choice. It makes little difference to me." She licked her drow-like lips and displayed glistening fangs. "If your spinal chord is severed, I doubt that you will offer me such resistance."  
  
The girl smiled ruefully. "You need not go to such measures, Lloth," she said, almost cheerfully. "I'll be bowing when I'm dead, won't I?"  
  
Lloth growled. She'd be damned if this surface filth would die with a smile on her cursed face! She lunged forward, but at that moment, a battle cry was heard.  
  
A single drow male leapt over the fence surrounding the pool and fell on top of the Spider Queen, his twin scimitars flashing in quick, accurate strokes. Lloth stumbled back ward, taken by surprise. She then rolled, dislodging the drow, who leapt to his feet and stood to face her.  
  
The Spider Queen smiled in wicked glee. "Ah," she said. "My greatest enemy in one realm has come to die with my enemy in this one. Two deaths in one strike, and I don't even have to call my handmaidens. Come, Drizzt Do'Urden," she howled. "Meet your doom!"  
  
The mad spider charged Drizzt, a spell flying from her lips. Drizzt dropped his legendary globe of darkness, and the spell went wild. Lloth used her magic to banish the globe, leaving Drizzt in the open once again. They clashed physically, Lloth with scratches and throws, Drizzt with slashes and blows. They raged all over, and blood speckled the concrete.  
  
After a few minutes, however, the Spider Queen pinned Drizzt down on his back. She glowered at his defiant face. "Such a good day for me," she crowed. "Today is the end of your troublesome defiance."  
  
"I will defy you through eternity!" Drizzt spat. The Spider Queen laughed at his insolence and raised four of her legs, ready to drive them into his heart. She felt alive with triumph, feeling as though nothing could stop her now for reining terror over this sad little corruptible world.  
  
Suddenly, she froze. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a bloody gurgle came forth. An instant later, her neck erupted in a gushing stream of blood. Her headless body rolled off of Drizzt, her legs still waving about madly. And then she was in cased with the stillness of death.  
  
The awestruck drow looked up to see the girl fall forward, the bloody pole still clutched in her good hand. She breathed a sigh that turned into a cough and rolled over onto her back. She stared up at the stars, knowing that it would be the last time she saw those pale points of light.  
  
Drizzt knelt by her side. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
She snorted. "Do I look alright?" she croaked. "I expect I'll be dead in a few minutes." Drizzt shook his head at the simplicity with which she proclaimed her doom.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
"Does it matter?" she asked. He nodded, and she sighed. "My n-name is Lene," she said softly.  
  
"Laina?" he repeated. She shook her head slowly.  
  
"Lene. Lei-na," she corrected. "Not that it m-matters." She took as deep a breath as she could. "W-what's your n-name?"  
  
The drow blinked in surprise. "Drizzt," he said automatically.  
  
"Drizzt," she repeated. "W-well, Drizzt, I'm s-sorry I h-have to be so p-pathetic." She drew a sharp breath. "I t-tried to k-kill her. S- should have known I w-wasn't s-strong enough."  
  
"You fought bravely," he told her. "No one has ever killed a goddess before. You should be proud."  
  
"She w-was no g-goddess," Lene said darkly. "S-she w-was just a r- ruler from another w-world. A thane of e-evil and c-corruption." She paused before continuing. "B-but I suppose y-you know that, eh, D-Drizzt?"  
  
Drizzt placed his hand over hers as her eyes closed. "You fought amazingly," he told her. "You accomplished something no one else ever has. You saved you realm from her evils, you triumphed over her once and for all." He clasped her hand tightly to his heart. "Your sacrifice will not go unmarked or unrewarded," he whispered.  
  
But she was already dead, a smile of triumph on her face. 


	2. Drizzt's summary

Disclaimer: the following is from the diary of Drizzt Do' Urden, one of the many things I do not own. This is Drizzt's view on the events in the previous chapter.  
  
It amazes me to no end how one human child can triumph over the evils threatening her very world. Forever will I remember the sacrifice she gave to a world I will never know.  
  
When I followed the vile Spider Queen Lloth into that realm, I appeared in a small bedroom. I can only assume that it was hers. I left the house via the bedroom window, and was at a loss as to where my quarry had gone. The sounds of battle drew me to the end of a broad, paved path lined with human dwellings, the like of which I have never before seen.  
  
I climbed the fence surrounding the square pool, and saw the struggle underwater only in the infrared spectrum. When they erupted from the water, I could only gape at the girl's courage as she stared her doom in the eye and did not falter.  
  
My own battle with that vile deity fared far worse. I did little to injure the Spider Queen, and was trapped beneath her within moments. Despite all of my battle training, my years as a champion fighter, she bested me with barely an effort. Were it not for the girl, I would certainly be dead now, tortured for an eternity at the hand of Lloth.  
  
Once the girl had rendered her enemy helpless, she lost the last of her strength. She died an honorable death for the salvation of her race. Whether she knew the greatness of her deed or not, she died a heroine in battle. Never will I forget the look upon her face as death claimed her: righteous, triumphant, and perfectly at peace.  
  
May your spirit sleep soundly, brave Lene. 


End file.
